Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“PROVIDER” BY SLEEP TOKEN
LUNA
Just as Blade finishes pulling the socks on me, the door opens, Chase and Thorn walking in. Thorn is carrying a bowl, the smell of creamy Nutella porridge wafting over to me and making my tummy growl.
“I added some ground flaxseed,” he says, Blade helping me into the bed as Thorn walks around and gets in on the other side. “Early research suggests it can help reduce tumor size and cancer cells.”
“I didn’t know that,” I reply, my eyes stinging at the fact that Thorn must have looked it up for me.
It didn’t occur to me to look anything like that up before.
I was so young and, well, just focused on surviving, and Mom was so busy trying to make ends meet that neither of us looked beyond the treatment I received. “Thank you for…well…everything.”
“Well, get used to it, and I have other adjustments and supplements that will help,” he replies as I settle back into the multitude of cushions that Blade has put at my back.
“I’ve ordered some organic ginger tea and crystallized ginger for your nausea.
I’m making a natural herbal tea blend to help you sleep, and I’ve some CBD oil which helps with anxiety and nausea.
” My mouth opens, but no words come out.
He’s done all that…for me? Thorn takes the spoon in his hand, dipping it into the bowl and bringing it back out with porridge on it, then brings it to his lips, testing the temperature before turning to me with a cheeky smile. “Just right.”
I huff a laugh, realizing that he’s not going to give me the spoon when he just stares at me expectantly. So—and only because I’m tired—I open my mouth and he slides the spoon inside. The rich, creamy, nutty flavor bursts on my tongue, the chocolate taste making me moan.
“That’s so damn amazing,” I tell him, and his smile gets wider.
“Good. Now eat up, then sleep,” he commands, and I roll my eyes, earning three growls.
“You’re becoming as bad as Papa Bear,” I grumble, and Thorn’s lips twitch.
“Papa Bear?” His gaze darts behind me just as the bed dips. “Ah, fitting.”
“I don’t mind being called Daddy,” Blade rumbles in my ear, and I get a full-body shiver from the low, sexy tone.
“No more riling her up, she needs rest,” Chase chides from the bottom of the bed, and I turn to find him standing there, hands on his hips with a firm look on his face.
“Maybe you should be called Daddy,” I tell him with an arched brow, taking another mouthful of porridge that Thorn feeds me, which may ruin the sassy attempt somewhat.
“I prefer sir,” he says casually, though there is a heat in his eyes that I’m quickly becoming addicted to.
I swallow another mouthful of porridge that Thorn feeds me, looking around to change the subject before my greedy pussy gets ahead of us and demands more of my stepbrothers’ cocks.
“Why can’t I just smoke weed like you guys do?” I ask, and they freeze.
“How do you know we smoke?” Thorn questions at the same time Chase hisses.
“Abso—fucking—lutely not, Star.” I slightly flinch at the anger in his tone.
His cheeks flush immediately, and he kneels on the end of the bed.
“Sorry, it’s just that tobacco is bad for your lungs.
We’ll get you some edibles, as long as they’re not too sugary, and Thorn has ordered the oil, but no smoking. ”
“But you do,” I argue back, huffing and turning my head away from the next spoonful of porridge Thorn tries to feed me. I cross my arms over my chest, though the effect is ruined by being in bed with two of them now cuddled up to me.
“That’s different, Goldie,” Thorn says, trying to push the porridge at me again.
“I’m done,” I tell him sullenly, and I know I’m being childish and that Chase is right, but it still stings as it’s another reminder that I can’t be normal. Suddenly, tears sting my eyes, the back of my jaw working as I try to hold it in.
“Hey, Goldie, don’t do that, please,” Thorn begs, setting the bowl down on the bedside table and scooting closer.
“Do what?” I manage to get out, past the lump in my throat.
“Hide your feelings from us. You don’t need to bottle it all up, pretty stepsis,” he says, his hand cupping my cheek. “Tell us why you’re so upset, please?”
“I just want to be normal.” The first tear drips down my cheek, scalding a path across my skin. “I don’t want to do this again.”
As if my words opened the floodgates, I uncross my arms and throw them around Thorn, the sobs wracking my body as I cry at the injustice of it all. His arms band around me, holding me close as he says soothing things in my ear and lets me cry all over him.
Warmth at my back tells me Blade is still there, and a hand strokes up and down my legs over the covers, showing me that Chase is here too. They don’t try to stop me, don’t try to offer platitudes, just hold me and let me get it all out.
“ARTISTRY” BY JACOB LEE
CHASE
It’s the worst kind of pain, watching Luna sob in my brothers’ arms and knowing that there is nothing I can do to fix this for her.
No amount of money will make it disappear.
Sure, we can help, and I intend to do just that.
I’ve already ordered her a custom compound multivitamin that’s specifically formulated for patients undergoing BMT, and I’ve got medical-grade protein shakes on the way, plus a specialized electrolyte formulation for hydration.
I’ve contacted several specialists who are experts in their field to see if they’ll take her case on, and we’ll be paying all her medical bills personally out of our funds.
Our Mom made sure we had our own funds before she passed, and I’ve never been more grateful for it because I would hate to have to go cap in hand to Father, begging.
I’d do it, for her, but it wouldn’t be something I’d enjoy.
I like my independence and need control too much.
Plus, the thought of anyone else having any kind of control over her treatment makes my teeth grind.
But it might not be enough, because the thing about cancer? It doesn’t give a shit how much money you have, or what kind of resources. Sometimes it just takes and takes, and there’s not a thing you can do about it.
Soon her sobs subside, and she slumps into my brother, her eyes closed and her breathing evening out as she falls asleep in his arms. No words are exchanged between Thorn and Blade as they maneuver her so that she’s lying down between them.
Getting up carefully so as not to jostle her, I walk over and dim the lights, intending to head to my room to finish my plans for her medication regimen.
“Stay, Chase, please?” her soft voice floats towards me, and I turn to find her looking at me over Blade’s huge shoulder.
“There’s no room, Star,” I tell her, my soul screaming at me to lie at her feet if it means we get to stay.
Her brows furrow, then lift as a small, sleepy smile lights up her face. “Scooch over, Papa Bear,” she instructs Blade, who doesn’t even protest the ridiculous name.
She indicates the space now between her and Blade, and with a lightness that I really have no right to feel, I climb on the bed, clambering over my brother, who doesn’t even try to kidney punch me for stealing his space like I expect him to.
Once I’m settled on my back, she surprises me by climbing on top of me, resting her head on my chest, and draping her body over top of mine.
One hand reaches out to pull Blade close, resting on his chest. The other encourages Thorn closer, and because it’s Thorn, he snuggles right into my side like when we were kids, tangling his legs with mine and Luna’s, his arm cuddling her to him.
She breathes a contented sigh, and I feel the tension leech from my body as we lie there, all snuggled together.
My arms wrap around her, my hands landing on her hips, and I can’t think of anywhere in the world I’d rather be.
There are no worries as I drift off and let sleep overtake me.
None of the usual thoughts that plague me and stop me from relaxing completely, even though I now have something to worry about.
Right now, in this bed, with my brothers beside me and Luna sleeping on top of me, I feel at peace, and I make a vow to not let anything or anyone take that away. I will fight tooth and nail to keep her here with us, and I will win.
Warmth surrounds me, the scent of vanilla and jasmine wrapped around me so tightly I don’t think I’ll ever get it out of my nose.
“Morning, Chase,” a soft voice whispers, and I blink open my eyes to find her, the source of the intoxicating scent and my stepsister, in bed next to me.
“Where are the others?” I ask, my brows dipping as I reach up and tuck a rogue curl behind her ear.
“I think they went downstairs for breakfast, maybe brunch? We slept late,” she tells me with a soft smile, and normally I would sweat a little at being so off my routine, but I find that I don’t mind. Not when it meant I got to spend hours by her side, even if we were both asleep.
Suddenly, there’s a knock at the door. “Luna love? Are you coming down for lunch?”
The sound of Lorelei’s voice has Luna’s eyes widening, her plush lips parting. It’s cute, she's so worried, makes me want to mess with her a little because I desire nothing more than to open the door and declare Luna as belonging to me and my brothers.
“I–I’m just getting ready, Mom. I’ll be down in a minute,” Luna answers, all while I look at her, holding back on all the things I want to do right now, only because I can see her rapid heartbeat in the pulse at her neck.
I don’t give a shit if our parents find out.
What can they do? We live together, and my brothers and I are all financially independent, so if Father did get stupid, we could just leave and find a place of our own with Luna. Maybe even move into Mom’s cottage.